Month: October 2015

A post shared by President Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) on Oct 14, 2015 at 8:29am PDT

Donald Trump’s recent attack ad on Bernie Sanders has struck an emotional cord for me. There are so many things wrong with it that I need to deconstruct it piece by piece. I intend this post to be both cathartic for me and any potential readers.

Bernie Sanders does know how to defend himself. Unlike Trump, he defends his beliefs even if they are unpopular with his supporters. In sharing his mic with the Black Lives Matter activists, he demonstrated that he knows sometimes the most important voice is not his own. This to me is what takes courage and strength and is what I look for in a leader.

Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, the issues with Donald Trump’s attack ad are not limited to toxic masculinity. In the short clip he also manages to denigrate the Black Lives Matter movement as well. By juxtaposing BlackLivesMatter activists with ISIS, he not so subtly insinuates that BlackLivesMatter is a serious threat to this country and its values. This is downright offensive. One group, ISIS, has murdered innocent people. The other group, Black Lives Matter, is trying to prevent the murder innocents. How could groups with literally opposite goals be similar?

Trump ends the video with his campaign slogan: “Make America Great Again.” Someone needs to tell Donald that this so called American Greatness he keeps referring to would not have been possible without the literal blood, sweat, and tears of Black America. Millions of Black lives have been lost to create the America we know today. Despite this, we as a society remain inhumanely indifferent to the struggles of Black America, the struggles we create and perpetuate. No Donald, Black Lives Matter is not a threat to “America.” America is a threat to Black lives. Props to Bernie for recognizing this.

Last but not least, the 15 second or so clip also manages to promote Islamophobia. I’m not here to debate the potential danger ISIS poses to this country; I am here to critique the depiction of Muslim individuals in our country. Donald Trump likes to cherry pick the worst individuals of Islam and use them to represent the entire religion to his constituents. Unfortunately his supporters don’t know any better. Are some Muslims terrorists? Yes, a very small handful are. Are the vast majority? Overwhelmingly, no. In fact, in the last 14 years since 9/11, White Americans have killed more innocent people than Muslims or any other group. Of the 26 terrorist attacks on the US since 9/11, only 6 have been committed by Muslims.